


Honoring old traditions

by Rogercat



Series: Modern AU; Himring National Park [23]
Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family Bonding, Gen, Modern Middle Earth, Mother-Son Relationship, Siblings, The Durins are humans here, Uncle Thorin, Uncle-Nephew Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:34:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27063481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: Dís tells her sons why Arkenstone Pancakes becoming will never fit as a restaurang chain
Relationships: Dís & Dís's Husband, Dís & Frerin & Thorin Oakenshield, Dís & Fíli & Kíli & Thorin Oakenshield
Series: Modern AU; Himring National Park [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1428016
Kudos: 5





	Honoring old traditions

Today Dís had invited over both her brothers for a family meal with her, Orvar and the boys. Autumn was a season rich in food, and a perfect time to meet outside family holidays. 

“Today we eat wild rabbit with roasted vegetables and herb sauce.” 

It was not merely in Arkenstone Pancakes that the Durinsson family kept old recipes from previous generations, sometimes they would make something that their ancestors had eaten. Rabbits, for example, had been raised for their meat and fur, not as pets like in the modern area. It was also foods that the three siblings had grown up with in their own childhood. 

  
  


At first, the mood was merry, with them sharing news from work and school. His nephews were very curious about Thorin's job as a judge in the city, for he always could tell a new story about how foolish tourists and the wildness tended to not mix well. 

“Mom,” Kili asked half-way through the meal, “why have we never made Arkenstone Pancakes into a food chain? Like those fast-food chains ín the south.” 

Suddenly, it became all quiet around the table. 

“It will never catch on here in northern Valinor, especially not here in this area so close to the Shire and Formenos,” Thorin managed to say, though Frerin saw that his brother tried really hard to keep his temper in control. Although Fili and Kili were unaware of it, this was hardly the first time someone had suggested something similar about the pancake restaurant that had belonged to their family for several generations. 

“But we could get more customers…” 

“No, Kili. And I will explain to you why this would be a bad idea, later after dinner,” his mother promised in a strict voice that she only used to make him not talk more, putting an end to the talk before it could become an heated argument around the table since she knew how her brother hated that idea. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

After the dinner, while Thorin and Frerin washed the dishes, Dís told the story to her sons as she had promised:

Of how badly Erebor had been hit by the Great Depression in the 1930s, with many of the miners suddenly forced to support their often large families on lower wages than before and try to find any sort of side-jobs that could provide extra money.

“My grandfather Thrór was a very young man when this happened. He saw the poor families struggle to feed their children, and he offered the pancakes as a free meal in exchange for various goods or anything else he needed for the restaurant. He experimented, tried to come up with new dishes where he mixed in cheap vegetables and meat to increase the nutrition. Many of the families working in the mine saw it as charity, and a way to help Thrór keep Arkenstone Pancakes afloat in a difficult time. It is something that Erebor has never forgotten, and we would lose that spirit if we let the restaurang become a chain.” 

Dís herself did not like the idea of Arkenstone Pancakes becoming the origins of a restaurant chain, there were a lot of inherited recipes from her ancestors and one of the biggest secrets to their still ongoing success was that the Durinsson used only ecological food from the Shire in their cooking. No modern powder mixers where you only needed to add water to make the batter, just plain old traditional recipes and seasonings. 

“Another reason why we never will let the restaurang become the first one in a chain, is that we have more tourists in the summer. The moment everyone returns to school and normal work, the business drops a lot. Sure, we could have themes like for Christmas, Valentines' Day and Halloween, but those would be limited to only a few days around the year. Here in northern Valinor, we are used to old traditions, and those who have tried to make a fast food restaurant here or in Formenos...will not be able to draw enough customers, especially those who are suspicious of anything that can not help to keep old ways of life alive. Look at all the hunters here in the north, they need proper food for long days out in the woods and fast food would not be able to keep their stomachs full for several hours.” 

She knew what she talked about. There were several such men and women here in Erebor after all. 

“But not all of the recipes are from old times. We have added a few variants of pancakes that are from other countries around the world, just to expand on the menu. But on the whole, it is the same old ones that we have served over the centuries,” Thorin said, where he was standing in the doorway to the playroom just outside the bedrooms of his nephews. 

“Like those birthday crêpes we always serve at your birthdays. That was something your grandma found out about when she visited Middle-earth in the years before marrying your grandpa,” Frerin added with a grin behind his older brother.

“Ooooh, tell more!” Fili asked with an eager look on his face, and Kili forgot all about Arkenstone Pancakes as a restaurang chain as his parents and uncles told more about the past. 


End file.
